Archive notice: This article was originally published on April 1, 2009. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
The German Association for the Digital Economy, BVDW, published a guide to advertising in and around digital games. Prepared by the eGame Advertising working group within BVDW’s Connected Games section, the publication was presented at Munich Gaming and made available in print and as a PDF.
The roughly 40-page guide examined advertising inside and outside games, including in-game and around-game advertising, as well as games tailored to a brand, product, or service. Alongside definitions and advertising formats, it covered pricing models, audience measurement, practical experience, and recommendations. BVDW intended it to support game-advertising sales and provide a basis for common standards.
“Barack Obama advertised in Burnout Paradise, Diesel uses virtual billboards, and Wagner Pizza is the main sponsor of the Big Pizza Ski Challenge,” said Connected Games section chair Marc Wardenga. He described eGame advertising as both innovative and a driver of the advertising industry’s future.
BVDW said online-game supply and usage had grown into a significant advertising market. Portals with millions of registered users and games with hundreds of thousands of active players showed that games had moved beyond a niche youth audience and become popular across age and demographic groups.
The guide was available as a free download from http://www.bvdw.org and in print on request.
